A new off campus student-led youth group strives to stand out among the others through accepting students of all denominations and backgrounds.

Arborlawn College Group is based on the idea of “come as you are.” 

Junior fashion merchandising major Sabrina Gordon said she founded the group in March and has seen it grow ever since.

“I wanted to feel that I could be exactly who I was inside the room and outside the room, and that is a huge part of this group,” Gordon said.

Students who attend the group range from never opening a Bible before to never stepping away from the church, Gordon said.

Junior mechanical engineering major Jeff Myers said he has been coming to the group since it started and likes it because it is different than other groups in which he is involved.

“This groups delves a little bit more into the word [scripture], and it relates a lot of different parts of The Bible to the way I live my life,” Myers said.

Gordon said when she was creating Arborlawn College Group she made sure not to put the word ‘Bible’ in the title.

“I think calling it a ‘Bible Study’ puts people off to it,” Gordon said. “When I just started calling it Arborlawn College Group, we gained a lot of people who were interested in seeing what other people's beliefs are or may not identify themselves as a Christian but are open to the ideas of it.”

During their weekly meeting they cover a variety of topics, Gordon said.

“We have talked about love, acceptance, friendship," Gordon said. "We tend to start with one generic topic, but depending on who is here, the discussion can go in every direction.” 

Myers said they relate the topic they are talking about for the week to different books in the Bible.

Brite Divinity student and TCU alumnus Dave Brower said he loves the fact that the group is student led.

“It is a lot of fun," Brower said. "I don’t know if everyone has known each other for a long time, but they seem to have known each other for a while. It’s a laid back group."

Gordon said the group has had between two to 20 people in attendance and hopes to see more in the future.

“The goal for me would be to outgrow this room and have to get a bigger space,” Gordon said.

Arborlawn College Group meets at 9:15 p.m. on Tuesdays at Arborlawn United Methodist Church Room 222.